Three days of extreme pampering from relatives and friends in Hyderabad had revived our energies for travel once again. So it was with a firmer grip on the steering wheel and a steelier click to our seat belts that we entered our car, set our gps, revved the engine and waved goodbye to our hosts at 9.30 am.
We were embarking on a 350 km trip today to Kaleshwaram, with a stop or two on the way. Since we were leaving post-breakfast (and a more delectable dish of pao bhaji we had not tasted for aeons), there would be no breakfast break. After circumnavigating to the eastern part of town along the Outer Ring Road (120 kmph, forsooth!), we scooted along NH163 to Warangal, and then switched to NH353C to Kaleshwaram. NH163 is a lovely expressway, and galloping above 100 is the norm. Post Warangal, it was a single carriage, good but slower, and overtaking was always an effort. Cotton plants dotted the fields once again, like white candyfloss, and the spread of farmlands with varied crops lent a roadside mosaic.
So where did we stop on the way?
Swarnagiri temple at Bhuvanagiri (11.00 am)
Swarnagiri Shree Venkatasara Swamy Devasthanam, as the diminutive of the name goes, is a HUGE temple complex located at Bhuvanagiri. It was on our way out of Hyderabad, so we screeched to stop at the parking lot and trotted in for a quick look.
Although the original temple is pretty old, it is said that after Telengana was formed, they greatly rued the loss of the Tirupati temple, and wanted to promote a temple of similar magnitude inside Telengana. Swarnagiri picked the full-house ticket and was massively overhauled to attract Venkateswara devotees. It is a very impressive place, with a Vishnu statue in supine posture in a pond, giving rise to the moniker "floating vishnu temple". Lots of gold used in the structures like the gopuram. Worth a visit. Although it is nowhere near as crowded as Tirupati (thank the Lord), surely the temple will gain prominence over time. May its stone steps wear down and hundi grow in size.
Bhuvanagiri fort (12.30 pm)
This was a 'good from far' type of stop, since we did not have the time to do the long climb to the top.
The fort at Bhuvanagiri (abbreviated to Bhongir by locals), was built in the 10th century by the Chalukya ruler Tribhubanamalla Vikramaditya VI, who called the fort Tribhubanagiri (and we know where that Chinese Whisper ended up...). It is a 500 ft high fort sitting atop a monolithic rock, quite impregnable. There is a rock-climbing institute at the foot which practices various ways of scaling the rock and attacking the fort. Eleven centuries too late, I suppose.
Lunch at Warangal (2.00 pm)
Warangal was the capital of the Kakatiya dynasty, from the 12th to the 14th century. Of course, our one-pointed mind always thinks of NIT Warangal first, but the temples and architectures of this region are said to be very beautiful as well. Our exposure to Warangal remained limited to daal, roti and mixed vegetables, eaten with bowed head and sombre rememberance of the grandeur of the Kakatiyas.
Dam Project at Kaleshwaram (4.30 pm)
We wanted to see this big project before checking in. The approach to Kaleshwaram, and particularly to the dam area, was through pretty dense forest, dark and deep, with negligible traffic. At some points, we were seriously wondering where the dam thing was!
Herr Google informs us that the Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Project (KLIP), with its many links, dams and canals, is built through 13 districts, covering 500 kms and services a canal network of 1800 kms. It is the largest multi-stage lift-irrigation system in the world! It was planned for 83,000 crore, but has finally cost 147,000 crore, making it financially unviable. The govt is bleeding money to service the debt. The mind boggles! Understandably, not much water in the river Godavari here. But enough to yield some pretty sunset pics.
Hotel Vishveshwara Lodge at Kaleshwaram (5.30 pm)
We finally entered the town as the sun was setting, like Clint Eastwood pushing open the swing doors of the only bar in town, his eyes squinting at the smoke from his cigarillo, the pretty bar-girl sidling up to him. Well, the only person who sidled up to me was a scruffy lad who tore off a ticket and asked me for 100/- for planning to visit the famous (but unassuming) Shree Kaleshwara Mukteeshwa Swamy Devasthanam temple. Not today, I told him, and clocked into our Vishweshwara Lodge, a building on the way out from town, clean and new. (Incidentally, this is the only hotel I stayed in which had a school on top). Dinner will be in the room, from our picnic basket.
Tomorrow, we leave for Chitrakote Falls in Chhattisgarh.
Photo credits: Panna Rashmi Ray